BILL NUMBER: SB 57	CHAPTERED  09/30/00

	CHAPTER   983
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 30, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 29, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 31, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 31, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 30, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 24, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 10, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 23, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 12, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 30, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 5, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hayden
   (Principal coauthor:  Senator Murray)
   (Coauthors:  Senators Alarcon and Johnston)
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Bock and Torlakson)

                        DECEMBER 7, 1998

   An act to add Division 20.7 (commencing with Section 30988) to the
Public Resources Code, relating to ocean resources.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 57, Hayden.  Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project.
   Under existing law, the Santa Monica Bay is included in the
federal Clean Water Act National Estuary Program.
   This bill would create within the California Environmental
Protection Agency the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, with
specified objectives.  The bill would require the Secretary for
Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Resources Agency, and in coordination with the Santa Monica Bay
Restoration Project, to make recommendations to the Legislature by
December 1, 2001, as to the most efficient and environmentally sound
measures to coordinate state policies to restore and enhance Santa
Monica Bay.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Division 20.7 (commencing with Section 30988) is added
to the Public Resources Code, to read:
      DIVISION  20.7.  SANTA MONICA BAY RESTORATION

   30988.  (a)  The Legislature finds and declares that Santa Monica
Bay is a public trust for present and future generations of
Californians, and an invaluable element in the ecosystem of southern
California.
   (b) The biological health and recreational resources of Santa
Monica Bay are threatened by the historical accumulation of DDT, PCBs
and other toxic pollutants, oil spills, and industrial discharges,
increasing with population pressures in the region.
   (c) Santa Monica Bay has been identified as a federal Superfund
site, and designated under the United States Environmental Protection
Agency's National Estuary Program.  Since 1988, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency has designated the Santa Monica Bay
Restoration Project as an agency to plan for the Santa Monica Bay's
restoration.  The State of California has expended millions of
dollars for the administration of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration
Project, and the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and
Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act;
Chapter 1.692 (commencing with Section 5096.300) of Division 5 of the
Public Resources Code) (Proposition 12 at the March 7, 2000, primary
election) earmarks up to twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000)
for Santa Monica Bay restoration projects, as identified by the Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Project.
   (d) The purposes, role, structure, and jurisdiction of the Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Project are not established in state law.
   (e) There is no lead agency designated and required to monitor,
assess, or coordinate state programs affecting the beneficial uses or
restoration and enhancement of the Santa Monica Bay, like the role
of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission with
respect to San Francisco Bay.  There are several fragmented,
overlapping agencies with jurisdiction over the Santa Monica Bay, but
no requirement for coordination or planning of their activities.
   30988.1.  The Secretary for Environmental Protection, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Resources Agency, and in
coordination with a designee of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration
Project, shall make recommendations to the Legislature as to the most
efficient and environmentally sound measures to coordinate state
policies to restore and enhance the Santa Monica Bay for future
generations.  Specifically, the parties, in consultation, shall
consider whether long-standing environmental issues merit the
development of a single lead agency and whether the Santa Monica Bay
Restoration Project is an institutional point of departure for such
an agency.  The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall make the
recommendations to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2001.
   30988.2.  There is in the State Water Resources Control Board the
Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, an informational forum,
planning body, and grant-making agency, the purpose of which shall be
to assess the biological condition and state of Santa Monica Bay,
including its public purposes such as recreation, aesthetic value,
and environmental education, with the goal of preserving, restoring,
and enhancing the ocean ecosystem and public interest values of the
Santa Monica Bay for future generations.
   30988.3.  The Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project may continue to
operate within the funding sources provided by, and the
organizational structure of, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality
Control Board.
   30988.4.  The project shall prioritize in its educational,
monitoring, and bond proceeds expenditure decisions, proposals or
projects designed to achieve bay restoration objectives including,
but not limited to, all of the following:
   (a) The reduction or elimination of nonpoint source pollution.
   (b) The reduction or prevention of the threat of oil spills and
leaks.
   (c) The reduction and prevention of beach erosion.
   (d) The reduction and prevention of public health threats from
pollution.
   (e) The reduction and prevention of loss of wetlands.
   (f) Effective enforcement of appropriate environmental laws.
   (g) Public education and warnings of any dangers of consuming
contaminated seafood.
   (h) Increased public education concerning the Santa Monica Bay in
collaboration with universities and grades K-12 schools.
   (i) Assuring that ocean resources are accessible to all
Californians regardless of socioeconomic status, and are preserved
and enhanced for future generations.
